Why We Love To Record Live Music

November 2011: Studio albums made well are terrific. But they’re hard to make well.

The energy and vitality of live music played well at the moment of performance is what we’re often trying to emulate when we spend hours and hours in the studio playing every part until its perfect.

Sometimes the energy fades as the process drags on, but we get so used to hearing the song that we CAN’T hear it. Good producers and performers are able to avoid those pitfalls and do. Creating a studio album that maintains the energy of a live music performance throughout is an exacting and difficult process, and it can be magic...or not.

With a live recording, if you start with solid performances by gifted professional artists, the energy is already there, and we would have to really work to dissipate it. At Goose Creek Music, our post-production process idealizes the audio environment because we are able to make considered decisions about the mix with tools and capabilities that would be difficult for a live engineer to duplicate, but we can’t change the energy of the performance.

In a live music performance you’re actually hearing a band’s version of a song at a specific point in time.

A studio track can easily be months in the making, and both the song and arrangement evolve over that time. Once the album is out and they’re playing to support it, the live arrangements gel into something slightly different than the studio versions. They pick up little improvisations, and get played with different band mates at different gigs.

By the time they get to Goose Creek Music, the singer/songwriters know the performance aspects of their existing material inside and out and we get to record them playing the song exactly how they feel it.

I personally enjoy those performances, and it’s a real pleasure to produce them for Goose Creek Live releases. Since our launch last year, we’ve produced CD and iTunes releases of live performances in the Washington D.C. area for The Sam Grow Band, David Kitchen, Danny Knicely, Billy Coulter and Jimmy Gaudreau. Our newest release, Billy’s album is a Goose Creek Live performance with an absolutely killer band. Also just out the door, Jimmy Gaudreau’s release is a mostly instrumental studio album with virtuoso performances by Jimmy and guests including Frank Vignola, Mike Auldridge, and Bill Brown.

Also soon to come are an EP for Lisa Taylor, a few iTunes releases here and there, and a whole new series of videos with Ruthie and the Wranglers, Jimmy Gaudreau and Moondi Klein, Esther Haynes, The Steel Wheels and our whole upcoming lineup of shows: Justin Trawick, Jake and the Burtones, and Janine Wilson. Whew… a lot going on. Welcome to Goose Creek Music.

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Get to Know Goose Creek Music

Goose Creek Music captures high quality audio and video recordings of original Americana music by emerging artists. We specialize in recording live performances with exceptional audio detail. Our audio tracks are released as CD's and digital downloads, and are used as soundtracks for our music videos and DVD collections, which we broadcast on local television and distribute via social networks like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.

Goose Creek Music's Americana recordings include Rockabilly, Country, Bluegrass, Acoustic Indie Pop, Blue-eyed Soul, and Roots Rock. Our genres and artists expand as we produce and record concerts with original music whenever and wherever we find emerging artists with the ability to impact this exciting and growing genre.

Mike Pugh

Goose Creek Music founder Mike Pugh is the President and Chief Operating Officer of the firm. Mike grew up just outside Kansas City, and has worked on the leading edge of technology in Atlanta, London, and Washington DC.

For many years, Mike spent his days negotiating contracts for global data networks while gigging regularly as a guitarist, vocalist, and bandleader. He founded Goose Creek Music in 2008, with the simple idea that if the worlds of publishing and global communications are going to collide, it would be good to have a ticket for the show.

Paul Shreve

Goose Creek's head of Business Development is Paul Shreve, a technologist and entrepreneur with a distinguished international career that spans the Internet revolution.

Paul spent seventeen years at Cisco Systems as Technical Consultant for Europe, Middle East and Africa. Before joining Cisco, Paul served as Principle Engineer and Director of Marketing for Advanced Computer Communications in Santa Barbara, CA. Paul now lives in Austin Texas.

Throughout his business career, Paul has worked regularly as a guitarist, mandolinist, and music director with a variety of ensembles in the US and Europe including rock and folk-rock bands, church ensembles, and studio projects. He also serves as the online media director for his wife, crime novelist Meg Gardiner, winner of an Edgar Award for Mystery Fiction in 2009.

Paul is a member of the Engineering Advisory Board for the University of Texas at Austin.

Pete Knapp

Goose Creek Music's new head of A&R and Media Relations is Pete Knapp, an Americana Music veteran with over 20 years experience as a musician, record label owner, concert promoter, publicist, and radio marketing guru.

Pete is the principle owner of Pete Knapp and Company, a successful radio promotion firm that markets American roots music in the US, Europe, and Pacific Rim. His active participation in the Americana Music scene enables Goose Creek to find talented and emerging artists in this important and growing genre. Pete's experience in Americana music includes working with such notable acts such as John Oates, BR549, Kaki King, and Goose Creek's own Steel Wheels.

Pete joined Goose Creek Music in February 2012, after several years of working together and cajoling...we're glad we finally cornered him!

Sian Pugh

The key to success for a modern media company is a web presence that is easily found, useful and informative for customers, and leverages the best current Internet marketing techniques to increase visibility for the firm and the artists they support. Goose Creek Music's Marketing Director Sian Pugh is an expert in marketing, communications, and online user experience. Sian's company Coventree Consulting has managed online presence, website development, customer experience, and search engine optimization for clients ranging from American and European technology companies to West Virginia Whitewater Rafting outfitters.

Sian managed the development of the Goose Creek Music website, and works tirelessly to ensure that our artists and products are visible and accessible to our current and prospective customers. When she's not crunching keywords and dancing with search engine spiders, Sian keeps Goose Creek President Mike Pugh in line and up to date on the honeydew list at our Northern Virginia headquarters.

Stefanie Zehnder

Goose Creek Music's Director of Graphic Design is Stefanie Zehnder, a Kansas City native who brings her passion for print media to our CD, DVD and printed promotional designs while keeping our brand imagery consistent and powerful in both the physical and digital domains. Happy in both tradition (especially when it comes to flour, sugar, and buttah!) and technology (who could do without a good food blog?), Stef has a passion for old and new creative processes.